Service back to normal after box found on bus

Service on two Northwest Side CTA bus routes returned to normal this evening after a suspicious box found on a CTA bus.

A suspicious black box was found under a seat on a bus on Irving Park Road a little after 4 p.m., said Chicago Police News Affairs Officer Anne Dwyer.

The driver of a No. 80/Irving Park Road bus reported finding the box while stopped at a bus terminal in the 4100 block of West Irving Park Road, just west of Pulaski Raod, and police and fire officials were alerted, said CTA spokeswoman Wanda Taylor.

As a precaution, traffic and buses were rerouted around the area as police investigated whether the box was dangerous. But the incident was over as of 5:53 p.m. and service on the affected lines returned to normal, CTA spokeswoman Catherine Hosinski said.

Neither Hosinski, nor a police officer at the Albany Park District -- who confirmed that the incident had ended as of 6 p.m. -- knew exactly what was in the box.